“Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

One of the highlights of last week was attending the Eads Maine Street Bash Friday night. It was a lovely night with pretty pink clouds reflected through the leaves of the trees overhanging Maine Street as local Kiowa County man Jaime Crockett sang. Jaime is an outstanding singer in several styles as he sings playing his guitar. When I first became aware of Jaime, he was from the east end of the county; now he lives on a ranch just southwest of Eads on the way to the lakes. A new entertaining feature of his concert was that he invited children to sing solo. The first boy, about 11 years old, was Waylon Bollin. We knew he was a nice boy who liked to play bingo with us, but we were even more impressed that he is such a good singer. His mother, Chelsy, is a nurse here at Weisbrod Health. Then a girl named Emma and a trio of girls sang. They all sounded good!

People were on park benches or the brick wall unless they brought their own folding chairs, which many people did, to listen and visit as they watched others moving about. Some people bought their food from the food trailers or Trista Tuttle’s “Touch of Elegance,” and yet others brought carry-outs from the cafes. I favor the Ice Cream Shoppe next to the Plains Theatre. There is one more summer Maine Street Bash left for us to enjoy. That will be Friday, July 31, when we will hear Brady Nichols from Scott City, Kansas.

The Eads senior citizens lunch was the largest we have ever had in attendance. Some of the men were disappointed that they couldn’t have seconds of fried chicken like usual when they went through the line the first time, because Gail Voss, our leader, wasn’t sure we would have so many more people there. But it was a great meal. We had lots of salad and desserts too.

That evening the Haswell monthly supper was called off for lack of a cook because the dear lady who usually cooks, Pam Lessenden, turned her ankle in the wrong position in her kitchen that morning and ended up in the emergency room at Weisbrod. It was a shock to her because she had been out about town mowing, cutting limbs, and raking in public places earlier that morning. Although it is painful, it will heal, the doctor told her.

The Weisbrod Hospital Auxiliary had an interesting lunch meeting at JJ’s Restaurant Tuesday. They are planning to have a bingo party in August with prizes in envelopes. We are looking forward to the Fall Bazaar in November.

Shelby Warn, RN, EMT-B, has been a full-time nurse here at Weisbrod for some time and has a new position of Emergency Preparedness Officer. This is a critical role for our community. She will coordinate the ambulance service for the county and the hospital health team. Shelby has extensive training with the Lamar Ambulance Service.

Doris Gibbs has recently completed 40 years of service at the Cheyenne Wells hospital and nursing home. Several ladies here remember when she worked in Eads as a hospital aide.

People were delighted when they went to see the new “Tiny House” on Luther Street next to Keith Barlow’s home. It is owned by Vinton and Mary Ellen Engelhardt of Eads. She and her daughter-in-law, Shellie Engelhardt, decorated the interior. I was delighted to see her photos of the spaces and how it looks more “roomy” than one might suppose. It has already been rented for three years by a new employee of Weisbrod.

Shirley Borns Morlan of Wiley came to visit us here last week. Oh, it was so good to see this dear friend formerly from Kit Carson again! She was visiting her cousin, Louise Downy of Lamar.

Congratulations to John Contreras of Granada, who has been a fine and highly esteemed photographer and sportswriter for many years. Recently he and his “John’s Sports Page” were recognized with a 2026 Media Award from the Colorado Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame! Many generations of southeast Colorado sports fans have watched John taking photos of our local teams and sports young men and women! I am confident that many families have scrapbooks and bulletin boards with John’s photos that he has taken of their family members and events from all across the state.

Many families from Kiowa County and other counties have spent many hours on the roads, mostly to Lamar and their hometowns — Eads, Holly, Lamar, Granada, and other towns — to play summer baseball. Recently at Limon, the 12U team (age 12 and under) won the state championship title. The coaches who gave of their busy time were Kyle Barnett of Eads, J.T. Steinbrunn of McClave, and Neal Vallejos of McClave. Those from Kiowa County were Luke Barnett, Eaton Buzzard, Kytan Gooden, Jax Cordova, Connor Buzzard, Blake Koeller, Gage Gibbs, and manager Kyce Gooden. From McClave were Logan Steinbrunn, Nolan Vallejos, and Charlie Homm, and from Lamar, Josiah McDowell.

Happy vacation time… Dear readers, let’s pray for rain on our Colorado lands.